Today's Liberal News

Alexis C. Madrigal

The Messiest Phase of the Pandemic Yet

The numbers are remarkable. More than 100 million people in the United States have likely been infected by SARS-CoV-2 and 167 million people are fully vaccinated. Yet despite this huge population of people with at least some level of immunity, the Delta variant has sent case and hospitalization numbers soaring. Florida is on its way to having twice as many people hospitalized now than during any previous wave, when essentially no one was vaccinated.

The Threat That COVID-19 Poses Now

After more than a year of pandemic, after months of an aggressive vaccination campaign, the United States should finally be better positioned to protect itself against the coronavirus. Nearly all of our long-term-care residents are vaccinated. Tens of millions of other people have been vaccinated, and tens of millions more have some level of immunity from previous infection.

The Threat That COVID-19 Poses Now

After more than a year of pandemic, after months of an aggressive vaccination campaign, the United States should finally be better positioned to protect itself against the coronavirus. Nearly all of our long-term-care residents are vaccinated. Tens of millions of other people have been vaccinated, and tens of millions more have some level of immunity from previous infection.

A Simple Rule of Thumb for Knowing When the Pandemic Is Over

Editor’s Note: The Atlantic is making vital coverage of the coronavirus available to all readers. Find the collection here. In the middle of January, the deadliest month of the pandemic, one day after inauguration, the Biden administration put out a comprehensive national strategy for “beating COVID-19.

The Battle to Keep the Pandemic’s Best Data Running

When a hospital is in trouble, the signs are unmistakable. The number of COVID-19 admissions rises quickly. The number of patients who remain hospitalized grows steadily—and the bar to be admitted gets higher. The percentage of patients in intensive-care units increases. Supplies run low. As an ICU nears capacity, sick people get less care than they would have. More people suffer, and more people die.

How Many Americans Are About to Die?

Editor’s Note: The Atlantic is making vital coverage of the coronavirus available to all readers. Find the collection . Nor does the analysis incorporate the possibility of an overburdened testing system becoming unable to complete as many tests as necessary, which would depress case counts. Either of these factors could push or skew the expected death rate even higher.

Hospitals Can’t Go on Like This

Editor’s Note: The Atlantic is making vital coverage of the coronavirus available to all readers. Find the collection here. The reports have come in from all across the country: Hospitals are filling up, especially in the Midwest, and they are running out of the staff they need to take care of patients.

The Worst Day of the Pandemic Since May

The United States is experiencing an unprecedented surge of hospitalizations across the country. Today, states reported that 61,964 people were hospitalized with COVID-19, more than at any other time in the pandemic. For context, there are now 40 percent more people hospitalized with COVID-19 than there were two weeks ago.Seventeen states are at their current peaks for hospitalizations today.

A New Era of Coronavirus Testing Is About to Begin

In 24 hours, the testing landscape of the United States has transformed.Yesterday morning, all of the tests for COVID-19—traditional or rapid—that had received emergency authorization from the Food and Drug Administration required an expensive machine and cost around $40 or more. In the afternoon, the pharmaceutical company Abbott announced that it had received FDA authorization to distribute a new type of test.

A Second Coronavirus Death Surge Is Coming

Editor’s Note: The Atlantic is making vital coverage of the coronavirus available to all readers. Find the collection here. There is no mystery in the number of Americans dying from COVID-19.Despite political leaders trivializing the pandemic, deaths are rising again: The seven-day average for deaths per day has now jumped by more than 200 since July 6, according to data compiled by the COVID Tracking Project at The Atlantic.

A Dire Warning From COVID-19 Test Providers

Editor’s Note: The Atlantic is making vital coverage of the coronavirus available to all readers. Find the collection here. The United States is once again at risk of outstripping its COVID-19 testing capacity, an ominous development that would deny the country a crucial tool to understand its pandemic in real time.

America Is Giving Up on the Pandemic

After months of deserted public spaces and empty roads, Americans have returned to the streets. But they have come not for a joyous reopening to celebrate the country’s victory over the coronavirus. Instead, tens of thousands of people have ventured out to protest the killing of George Floyd by police.Demonstrators have closely gathered all over the country, and in blocks-long crowds in large cities, singing and chanting and demanding justice.